The present invention relates generally to disposable undergarments, and in particular, to a three-piece undergarment having reinforcement elements at specific locations corresponding to the leg openings of the article and the method for the manufacture thereof from a nested front and rear body panel web.
Disposable undergarments can be configured in many different forms. For example, disposable absorbent garments can be configured as a pant-type, pull-on garment, or as a diaper-type product that is drawn up between the legs and fastened about the waist with various fastening systems. Often, absorbent garments include an outer cover, which forms at least a part of a body panel that is secured around the waist of the user. In addition, the outer cover typically extends along a crotch region of the garment.
Often, the outer cover is made from a single piece of material, with leg openings cut therein, for example by die cutting. The material from the leg cut out, which can account for as much as 20-30% of the total area of the outer cover, typically is waste material, which must be disposed of or recycled.
In response to this problem of waste, some garments are configured with front, rear and crotch sections formed from a single web that is divided into two nested halves, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,151. However, the webs of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,151 have overlapping crotch portions that are directly secured one to the other. Accordingly, the overall rise of the garment is not readily varied to accommodate different size users, and the range of sizes is limited by the extent of the overlapping regions.
Moreover, the size of the leg openings formed by a die cutter in a conventional one-piece outer cover is typically fixed. As such, it can be expensive and time consuming, and reduces the overall flexibility of the manufacturing line, to switch dies and alter the process to manufacture different size garments.
Often elastic elements are secured between two or more layers of the body panel material in a pattern that attempts to match the crotch edge of the body panels. However, the shape of the elastic elements may not be congruent with the curve of the leg opening and may vary not only in the placement but also in the ability to securely fit around the circumference of the user's leg. Consequently, after continued and prolong use, the leg openings lose their elasticity around the user's leg allowing leakage of bodily exudates. In addition, there is a risk of inadvertently cutting the elastic elements when forming the crotch edge.
Therefore, the need remains for improved methods and assemblies for manufacturing undergarments to reduce the waste of materials while providing undergarments with elastic elements that fit the curve of the leg opening to provide additional reinforcement during use.